CN1909101A - Reproducing apparatus, reproducing method, and content reproducing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a reproduction device. The reproducing apparatus has a recording section, a reproducing section, a time information generating section, and a control section. Record partial record content data. The reproducing section reproduces the content data. The time information generation section generates time information. The control section checks whether the recording section has recorded content data whose expiration date is imminent based on the time information generated by the time information generating section when the reproducing apparatus is started. When the content data whose expiry date is imminent is recorded in the recording section, the control section notifies the user of the content data whose expiry date is imminent.

Description

Reproducing device, reproducing method and content reproducing system

Related Application Cross Reference

The present application contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application JP2005-224778 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Aug. 2, 2005, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to a reproducing apparatus that notifies a user of an expiration date that has been assigned to content, a reproducing method thereof, and a content reproducing system.

Background technique

In recent years, many portable reproduction devices using small hard disk drives as recording media have been commercialized. The recording capacity of a small hard disk drive is from about several gigabytes to about tens of gigabytes, that is, a large amount of content data, for example, about hundreds of tracks of content to thousands of tracks of content. Therefore, since small hard drives can record very many tracks of content data, they have been widely used. The housings of these reproduction devices are relatively small and relatively light. Therefore, the user can record the content of audio data such as a song on the recording medium, operate the reproducing apparatus having the recording medium outdoors, and enjoy the song reproduced by the reproducing apparatus.

Content reproduced by such a portable reproducing apparatus is transferred from an information device such as a personal computer connected through a so-called communication interface, and recorded onto a recording medium. On the other hand, the personal computer side acquires content from a commercial music compact disc (CD), and stores the acquired content in a hard disk drive (HDD), or stores in the HDD content transmitted (downloaded) from a server on the Internet. The content stored in the HDD of the personal computer is then transferred to the portable reproduction device.

A content download service provided by a server on the Internet has been proposed. In such a service, subscribers to the service pay for the expiration date of the content, rather than the number of tracks downloaded. Subscribers to the service are free to reproduce the downloaded content until the content expires. Content that a subscriber can reproduce for a predetermined period of time is called subscription content. The reproducible time period of the ordered content is limited in such a manner that the content is encrypted and an expiration date is assigned to a key with which the encrypted content can be decrypted.

Another related technique is described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-203133, by which a content provider controls its subscribers who reproduce downloaded content. In this related art, a content provider permits its subscribers to use content using wireless communication.

Contents of the invention

After the reproduction expiration date is assigned to the content, it may be necessary for the reproduction apparatus side to notify its user of the reproduction expiration date. In the related art, if the reproduction expiration date has come and content that cannot be reproduced is recorded in the reproduction device, only when the user selects the expiration date has come and tries to reproduce the content, the device notifies him or her of the content. The expiration date of the content has come and the content cannot be reproduced.

In this structure, until the user selects the content, it is difficult for him or her to know whether the expiration date of the content has come. Therefore, when a user reproduces content from a device, the device notifies him or her that the content cannot be reproduced because the expiration date of the content has come. Therefore, the techniques of the related art are not user-friendly.

If the user selects content on a predetermined period of time before the content's license expiration date, he or she may be notified that the content's expiration date is imminent. In this method, as a standard, when the user selects the content, since he or she is notified of the license expiration date in a state where he or she can reproduce the content, he or she knows in advance the possibility of paying an additional fee. expiration date. However, in this method, as long as the user selects the content, he or she is repeatedly notified that the expiry date of the content is coming soon. Therefore, users may feel bored.

In view of the aforementioned problems, it is desirable to provide a reproducing apparatus, a reproducing method, and a content reproducing system that allow a user to be safely informed of whether or not there is content whose expiration date has come, without making him or her feel uncomfortable.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a reproducing apparatus is provided. The reproducing apparatus has a recording section, a reproducing section, a time information generating section, and a control section. Record partial record content data. The reproduction part reproduces content data. The time information generation section generates time information. The control section checks whether the recording section has recorded content data whose expiration date is imminent based on the time information generated by the time information generating section when the reproducing apparatus is started. When the content data whose expiry date is imminent is recorded in the recording section, the control section notifies the user of the content data whose expiry date is imminent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a reproducing method for reproducing content data. Generate time information. When the reproducing apparatus starts up, it is checked based on the time information whether the reproducing apparatus has recorded content data whose expiration date is imminent. When the reproducing apparatus has content data whose expiry date is imminent, the user is notified of the content data whose expiry date is imminent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system having a reproducing apparatus and external devices. The reproducing device has a recording section, a reproducing section and a control section. Record partial record content data. The reproduction part reproduces content data. The time information generation section generates time information. The control section checks whether the recording section has recorded content data whose expiration date is imminent based on the time information generated by the time information generating section when the reproducing apparatus is started. When the recording section records the content data whose expiration date is coming soon, the control section notifies the user of the content data whose expiration date is coming soon, and the license of the content data whose expiration date is coming soon Information is sent to external devices. The external device has a communication section, a management section and an update section. The communication section communicates with the reproduction device. The management section manages licenses associated with information. The update section updates the license information sent from the external device based on the license information sent from the reproducing apparatus and the license related to the information managed by the management section.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the device starts up, it checks whether there is content data whose expiration date is imminent based on time information. When there is content data whose expiration time is coming soon, the user is notified that the expiration date of the content data is coming soon. Therefore, the user is safely notified of the presence of content data whose expiration date is imminent. Additionally, the user is not repeatedly notified of this information whenever the device is powered on.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode embodiments of the present invention as shown in the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention used;

2 is an external view showing an example of a portable reproduction device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of a reproducing apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a generalized architecture applicable to a reproduction device;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the structure of an attribute information table;

6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of automatically starting preview reproduction;

7A, 7B, 7C and 7D are diagrams showing examples of indications displayed on the display part according to the flowchart;

8A and 8B are diagrams describing a process performed when preview reproduction is switched to normal reproduction;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed in artist link mode;

10A, 10B and 10C are diagrams of examples of indicated transitions during artist link mode;

11A, 11B, 11C and 11D are diagrams illustrating examples of transitions of indications during artist link mode;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram describing decryption and reproduction of ordered content;

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram describing keys assigned to various services;

14A and 14B are schematic diagrams of examples of structures of licenses of managed subscription contents;

15 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of notifying a user of a license expiration date of ordered content;

16 is a schematic diagram describing a method of checking license information;

17A and 17B are diagrams showing examples of warning indications indicating that an expiration date is imminent;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship among the license expiration date, reproducible and non-reproducible states of ordered contents, and alarm indications on the time axis; and

Fig. 19 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the configuration of a reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention will be described next with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a reproducing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention used. The reproducing apparatus 1 is a portable device (PD) structurally having a small-sized and light-weight housing. The reproducing apparatus 1 uses a hard disk drive as a recording medium, and reproduces content data from the recording medium. In addition, the reproduction apparatus 1 has an interface capable of communicating with a personal computer 2 (hereinafter referred to as PC 2). The interface is, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface. In this example, it is assumed that the reproduction apparatus 1 and the PC 2 are connected by USB as a communication interface.

In the following description, it is assumed that the content data recorded on the recording medium of the reproducing apparatus 1 is song data, that is, audio data. Each unit of song data is also called a track.

The music server 4 provides a content data download service via the Internet 3, for example. The music server 4 manages content data, attribute information such as artists, collected albums, and music genres in association with each other. It is preferable that the music server 4 associates content data with, for example, a melody and tempo as attribute information. In addition, the music server 4 manages rating information based on download counts of tracks of content data and related artist information (this information is called artist link information). The music server 4 provides services using these types of information via the Internet 3 . For example, the music server 4 adds these types of rating information, artist link information, and the like to the aforementioned attribute information, and provides the generated attribute information to the user. The attribute information may include collected albums and release dates of content data.

The user, for example, connects the PC 2 to the Internet 3, and then downloads content data from the music server 4 on the Internet 3. The downloaded content is stored, for example, in the hard drive of the PC 2. In addition, the user connects the reproduction apparatus 1 and the PC 2 with a USB cable, and then transfers the content data stored in the hard disk drive of the PC 2 to the reproduction apparatus 1. The playback device 1 records the transmitted content data in its internal recording medium. Then, the user disconnects the playback device 1 from the PC 2. The user can go out with the reproduction device 1 and enjoy the content data reproduced by the reproduction device 1 from the recording medium.

When a user downloads content data from the music server 4, if he or she also acquires rating information as attribute information, he or she can easily search for currently popular content. In addition, if the user also acquires artist link information as attribute information, he or she can know other artists related to the selected content and easily search for related artist's content. If the history of reproduced content data is stored in the reproduction apparatus 1, the user can easily search for his or her favorite content.

Fig. 2 shows an example of the appearance of the portable reproducing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Arranged on the front surface of the reproducing apparatus 1 are mainly a display section 10 mainly including a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a display device, which displays information to the user, and an operation section 20 having a plurality of keys, These keys accept user actions. The display section 10 can perform display control, for example, at the precision of one point and display text, simple graphics, icons, and the like.

Also provided on the front surface of the reproducing apparatus 1 are a hold switch 16 and a connector portion 17 . The hold switch 16 switches the state of the operation section 20 between "enable" and "disable". The connector section 17 has a connector for exchanging data with external equipment, such as the PC 2, and an earphone terminal that outputs hard disk signals reproduced by the reproducing apparatus 1.

Next, keys provided on the operation section 20 will be described. When each key is pressed, for example, a control signal corresponding to the key is output. Additionally, different functions may be assigned to each key depending on whether the key is pressed for a longer period of time or a shorter period of time. In other words, depending on whether the key is pressed for a period of time equal to or greater than a predetermined value (this state is called a long-pressed state), or shorter than the predetermined value (this state is called a short-time pressed state), Different functions can be assigned to each key. When each key is pressed for a short time, the assigned function is performed after the key is pressed and released within a predetermined period of time. On the other hand, when the key is pressed for a long time, the assigned function is executed while the key is pressed for a predetermined period of time or longer. If a key is only assigned a short press state, the assigned function is performed when the key is pressed. If a key is pressed for a predetermined period of time or longer, the state may be defined as the key being pressed repeatedly (this state is called a key repeat state).

The keys 11A and 11B are volume keys with which the volume of content data reproduced is increased and decreased, respectively. As soon as the buttons 11A and 11B are pressed briefly, the volume is increased by one step. The keys 11A and 11B have a key repeat state.

The keys 12A, 12B, and 12C are keys for controlling reproduction of content data. As long as the key 12A is pressed for a short time, the content data is commanded to be alternately reproduced and paused. When the key 12A is pressed for a long time, the operation mode of the reproduction apparatus 1 is switched to the sleep mode. When the key 12B is pressed for a short time, the next content data is commanded to be reproduced. When the key 12B is pressed for a long time, currently reproduced content data is commanded to be reproduced in the fast-forward reproduction mode. Similarly, when the key 12C is pressed for a short time, the previous content data is commanded to be reproduced. When the key 12C is pressed for a long time, currently reproduced content data is commanded to be reproduced in the fast-reverse reproduction mode.

The key module 13 has five direction keys, which are an input key 13A arranged in the center and arrow keys arranged around the input key 13A. Arrow keys indicate up, down, left, and right (they are called up arrow, down arrow, left arrow, and right arrow). The key module 13 allows the user to mainly operate a screen displayed on the display section 10 .

While the display section 10 is displaying the screen on which the content is being reproduced, when the enter key 13A is pressed for a short time, the currently reproduced content is commanded to be alternately reproduced and paused. When the enter key 13A is pressed again for a short time, the content is commanded to be reproduced again. While the display section 10 is displaying a screen other than the content reproduction screen, when the enter key 13A is pressed, the item selected on the screen is confirmed. While the display section 10 is displaying a list of content tracks, when the enter key 13A is pressed, all the content in the list is commanded to be reproduced.

When the up key and the down key of the key module 13 are pressed for a short time, the currently selected item on the display part 10 is switched to the immediately previous item and the immediately next item respectively. When the up key and the down key are pressed for a long time, the list on the display portion 10 is commanded to quickly scroll up and down, respectively. Repeat functions work with the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys until they are long pressed. Thus, with the up key and the down key, the screen can be slowly scrolled, for example, up and down, respectively.

When the left key and the right key of the key module 13 are pressed for a short time, the currently selected item is switched to the immediately left item and the immediately right item respectively. When the display section 10 displays multiple pages, the left key and the right key cause the current page to be switched to, for example, the next page and the previous page, respectively. There is no long-pressed state for the left and right keys. However, with the left and right keys, the key repeat function can be operated.

When the find key 14 is pressed for a short time, the artist link function using the artist link information is commanded to be invoked. When the find key 14 is long-pressed, the artist link function is invoked, so that the contents of all the artists displayed on the display section 10 are reproduced. Details of the artist link function will be described later.

When the key 15 is pressed briefly, the operating state of the reproduction device 1 is commanded to return to the immediately previous state. When the key 15 is pressed for a long time, the top menu is displayed on the display section 10 .

The functions of the key module 13, the key 14 and the key 15 are all exemplary. The functions of these key modules and keys are not limited to these examples. Operating functions as software can be assigned to the key module 13 , the keys 14 and 15 .

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of the reproduction apparatus 1 . In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the reproduction apparatus 1 has three buses 30 , 34 and 40 . Connected to the bus 30 are a hard disk drive (HDD) 32 , a universal serial bus (USB) controller 33 and a system gate array 36 . The bus 30 mainly transfers content data. Connected to the USB controller 33 is a USB connector 31 . The USB controller 33 controls communication with external devices connected to the USB connector 31 .

Connected to the bus 34 are a USB controller 33 , a display control section 35 and a system gate array 36 . The bus 34 mainly transfers commands. The display control section 35 drives the display section 10 including, for example, an LCD, using a display control signal supplied through the bus 34 . The display control section 35 causes the display section 10 to display a screen corresponding to the display control signal.

Connected to the bus 40 are a microcomputer 41 , a system gate array 36 and a read only memory (ROM) 42 . The bus 40 mainly transmits commands. Connected to the microcomputer 41 are a real time clock (RTC) 46 and an operation section 20 . The operation section 20 generates control signals corresponding to the keys 11 to 15 , and supplies the generated control signals to the microcomputer 41 . The microcomputer 41 controls the entire reproducing apparatus 1 with a control signal supplied from the operation section 20 according to a program stored in advance in, for example, the ROM 42. In addition, the microcomputer 41 also generates predetermined display control signals according to the program.

The microcomputer 41 has an internal D/A converter (DAC) section 44 . The DAC section 44 converts audio data supplied from a decoder (to be described later) into an analog audio signal, and then supplies the analog audio signal to a headphone (HP) amplifier 45 .

The ROM 42 is, for example, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), which is a type of rewritable memory. ROM 42 can update its stored programs. The program to be updated is supplied from, for example, an external computer device through the USB connector 31 .

Since the microcomputer 41 controls the reproducing apparatus 1 according to the program stored in the ROM 42. Therefore, it can be considered that the playback device 1 is essentially a computer device.

System gate array 36 controls the exchange of data and commands between buses 30 , 34 and 40 . Connected to the system gate array 36 are a RAM 37 and a decoder 43. The decoder 43 decodes audio data encoded with compression. The RAM 37 is used as a work memory of the microcomputer 41. In addition, the RAM 37 is also used as a buffer for audio data decoded by the decoder 43. The RAM 37 has a capacity of, for example, 16 megabytes (MB). Of these 16MB, a predetermined area of 12MB is allocated as a buffer memory area for audio data.

Connected to the remote control terminal 47 is a remote commander which wirelessly controls the reproducing apparatus 1 and has an earphone terminal. The analog audio signal output from the headphone amplifier 45 is supplied to the remote control terminal 47 . In addition, the system gate array 36 and the remote control terminal 47 are connected. A control signal corresponding to the operation of the remote commander is input from the remote terminal 47 and supplied to the microcomputer 41 through the system gate array 36 and the bus 40 .

Both the aforementioned USB connector 31 and the remote control terminal 47 are provided on the connector portion 17 shown in FIG. 2 . The hold switch 16 is connected to an operation section 20 (not shown).

In the foregoing description, the reproducing apparatus 1 and the PC 2 are connected by wire. However, this structure is only an example. Instead, a wireless communication I/F (not shown) that controls wireless communication may be connected to the bus 30 . The wireless communication I/F can allow the reproduction apparatus 1 and the PC 2 to exchange commands wirelessly between them, can allow the PC 2 to wirelessly transfer content data and the like to the reproduction apparatus 1.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an architecture suitable for the reproduction device 1 . A user interface (UI) task 60 implements a user interface that causes the display section 10 to display data, and generates control signals corresponding to operations of the operation section 20 . The UI task 60 controls, for example, the cursor indication 70 corresponding to the operation of the key module 13 of the operation section 20, and generates control commands corresponding to the operations of the keys 12A to 12C, with which the reproduction of the audio data is controlled. control. The reproduction control commands include play (reproduction), stop (reproduction stop), feed forward (fast forward while reproduction), rewind (rewind while reproduction), skip (fast forward without reproduction), View (scroll back without rendering), pause (replay pause), and more.

Play task 61 is below UI task 60 . The playback task 61 manages reproduction of content data. Play task 61 exchanges data with a database (to be described later) corresponding to commands received from UI task 60, fetches content to be displayed, and issues content data reproduction control commands to lower-level tasks. In addition, the playback task 61 regularly grabs the current playback mode, returns the playback mode to the UI task 60, and controls reproduction corresponding to the playback mode.

The playback mode is an operation mode with respect to the reproduction order of the tracks of the content. Play modes are classified into, for example, a normal mode in which tracks of content are reproduced in the order of a list, a random mode in which the reproduction order of content tracks is randomly changed, and the like.

Buffering task 62 , database (DB) management task 63 and decoder control task 65 are located below playback task 61 . The buffer task 62 controls reading data from and writing data to the buffer memory area of the RAM 37. Additionally, the buffer task 62 controls the reading of audio data from the hard drive 32 . In addition, the hard disk drive 32 also analyzes the header information of the audio data stored in the buffer memory. The buffer task 62 controls the buffer memory as a ring buffer, wherein the top address of the buffer is logically connected to the last address.

The database management task 63 manages content data recorded in the hard disk drive 32 . The database management task 63 manages, for example, identification information (ID by which content data recorded in the hard disk drive 32 is identified), information indicating a recording location of the content data, and attribute information of the content data in association. In addition, the database management task 63 also manages artist link information. Details of the database managed by the database management task 63 will be described later.

The decoder control task 65 controls the decoding process performed by the decoder 43 for audio data. Control of the decoder control task 65 is interlocked with processes such as the buffer task 62 .

Operating system (OS) 68 overall management UI task 60, play task 61, buffer task 62, decoder control task 65 and database management task 63, these tasks are all the upper layer tasks of OS 68. In addition, OS 68 provides basic software functions for each task. For example, the OS 68 provides a file system for each last task, and the file system manages files recorded in the hard disk drive 32. The file system manages each logical address of the recording area of the hard disk drive 32 and files in the hard disk drive 32 . The file system provides a scheme for reading data from and writing data to hard drive 32 .

In addition, the OS 68 manages each component of hardware including the reproduction apparatus 1. The OS 68 executes an intermediate process between the last job of the playback device 1 and the hardware 69. The OS 68 has, for example, an HDD driver 64 that controls the hard disk drive 32, a buffer control section 66 that controls reading data from and writing data to the buffer memory area of the RAM 37, has controlled the decoder 43 is controlled by the decoder control section 67.

The OS 68 and tasks 60 to 65 shown in FIG. 4 are realized by operations performed by the microcomputer 41 in accordance with programs stored or recorded in the ROM 42 and/or the hard disk drive 32.

In this structure, when the reproducing apparatus 1 and the PC 2 are connected with a USB cable, the USB controller 33 exchanges data with the PC 2 in a predetermined manner so that the PC 2 recognizes the reproducing apparatus 1 as a removable hard disk drive . In other words, the PC 2 can record the content data recorded in the hard disk drive of the PC 2 to the hard disk drive of the reproduction apparatus 1 by utilizing the file copy function provided by the OS of the PC 2.

The PC 2 sends content data and commands to the playback device 1 through the USB cable. These content data and commands are received by the USB controller 33 . The received content data is transferred to the hard disk drive 32 via the bus 30 by the USB controller 33 and written to the hard disk drive 32 . In addition, received commands are captured from the USB controller 33 to the microcomputer 41 through the system gate array 36 .

Next, the procedure for reproduction will be described. For example, the microcomputer 41 refers to a database of contents recorded in the hard disk drive 32, and generates a display control signal for displaying a column of contents. Display control signals are supplied to the display control section 35 through the system gate array 36 and the bus 34 . The display control section 35 converts the display control signal into a drive signal for driving the display section 10 . A drive signal is supplied to the display section 10 . The display section 10 displays a column of reproducible content data corresponding to the display control signal.

The user operates the operation section 20 corresponding to, for example, data displayed on the display section 10 in a predetermined manner, and selects content data he or she wants to reproduce. The operation section 20 outputs a control signal corresponding to the user's operation. The microcomputer 41 monitors the control signal output from the operation section 20 . When the microcomputer 41 obtains a control signal representing a reproduction command, the microcomputer 41 issues a command to cause the selected content data to be reproduced. The command is sent to hard disk drive 32 via system gate array 36 and bus 30 .

The content data that has been read out from the hard disk drive 32 is supplied to the system gate array 36 via the bus 30 . The system gate array 36 stores the supplied content data in the buffer memory area of the RAM 37. In addition, the system gate array 36 reads a predetermined amount of content data stored in the buffer memory area of the RAM 37, and transfers the content data to the decoder 43. The microcomputer 41 monitors the amount of content data stored in the buffer memory area. When the amount of data stored in the buffer memory area becomes a predetermined amount or less, the microcomputer 41 issues a content data read command to the hard disk drive 32 through the system gate array 36 and the bus 30 .

The decoder 43 decodes the transmitted content data, and transmits them to the microcomputer 41 as baseband audio data. The microcomputer 41 performs acoustic processing on the audio data transferred from the decoder 43 as necessary. The DAC section 44 converts the generated digital audio data into analog audio data, and then outputs the analog audio data as an analog audio signal. The analog audio signal is supplied to HP amplifier 45 . The HP amplifier 45 performs amplification processing on the analog audio signal, and then supplies the amplified analog audio signal to the remote control terminal 47 .

Next, a database for managing content data recorded in the hard disk drive 32 will be described. This database is managed by the aforementioned database management task 63 . Fig. 5 shows an example of the structure of the attribute information table of the database. With this attribute information table, attribute information of content data is managed. In the example shown in FIG. 5, each record of the attribute information table has a field "content ID", a field "album ID", a field "genre ID", a field "artist ID", a field "reproduction history" and a field " Grading Information".

In the example shown in FIG. 5, pointer information corresponding to real data is stored as an ID in each field of each record. For example, each field of each record stores pointer information to a record of another table, where the other table stores the real data. As a result a relational database is constructed. The content ID is unique for each content data. Each record of the attribute information table is associated with real content data using a content ID. The structure of the database is not limited to this example. Instead, actual data may be stored in each field except the field "Content ID".

In the attribute information table, whenever content data associated with a specific record is reproduced, the value of the field "reproduction history" of the record is incremented by 1. The rating information is preferably updated at predetermined timing. For example, when new content data is downloaded from the music server 4 to the PC 2, rating information corresponding to the content data stored in the PC 2 is also downloaded. When content data is transferred from the PC 2 to the reproduction apparatus 1, rating information may also be transferred so that the database is updated.

The database management task 63 also manages artist link information. The artist link information is, for example, information associating artist A with information on artist B, artist C, etc. related to artist A. For example, if artist A collaborated with artist B and artist C on album Z, artist B and artist C can be said to be related to artist A's artwork. Additionally, Artist A may be associated with other artwork in Artist A's style. For example, Artist A may be associated with other artwork that has the key and beat of Artist A's primary content. Additionally, artist A may be associated with other artists in the era in which artist A was actively working. In addition, artist information may be associated with various types of information for related artists.

Artist link information may be assigned different levels corresponding to the degree of relevance of the target artist. Artist A may be associated with first artist link information including information on artists strongly related to artist A, such as artists B, C, D, etc., and second artist link information including Artists Q, P, O, etc. are information on artists that are weakly related to the artist. For example, for artist information managed by the database management task 63, these two types of tables are created. All artist information managed by the database management task 63 may be arranged as matrix elements, and degrees of relevance may be assigned to the matrix elements. The structure of artist link information is not limited to these examples.

The artist link information is provided to the user as a service of, for example, the music server 4 side. The artist link information is downloaded from the music server 4 to the PC 2 via the Internet 3. The artist link information is transferred from the PC 2 to the reproduction apparatus 1, and then recorded to the hard disk drive 32. For example, a list of contents recorded in the hard disk drive of the PC 2 and in the hard disk drive 32 of the reproducing apparatus 1 is transferred from the PC 2 to the music server 4. The music server 4 creates artist link information with reference to the attribute information corresponding to the column content, and sends it to the PC 2. Instead, the user side can create artist link information.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, if the cursor indication has been positioned at the position of a specific content for a predetermined period of time, the specific content is selected, and a predetermined portion thereof is automatically reproduced. In the following description, only the predetermined portion of the content is reproduced. The operation of selectively reproducing is called preview reproduction. On the other hand, an operation in which the entire content is reproduced is called normal reproduction. A method of performing preview reproduction will be described later.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of automatically performing preview reproduction. 7A to 7D show examples of indications displayed on the display section 10 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 . A content list is displayed on the display section 10 (at step S10). For example, a list of content names is displayed on the display section 10 as shown in FIG. 7A. Cursor indication 70 is displayed at its home position.

Cursor indication 70 is displayed as follows. For example, the microcomputer 41 generates a display control signal that causes a cursor indication to be displayed at a predetermined position. The display control signal is supplied to the display control section 35 through the system gate array 36 and the bus 34 . The display control section 35 drives the display section 10 according to the display control signal. As a result, cursor indication 70 is displayed. By operating, for example, the up key and/or the down key of the key module 13, the position of the cursor indication 70 is moved and specified.

In the example shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D , the cursor indication 70 is generated by inverting the display color of the content name. However, the display method of the cursor indication 70 is not limited to this example. In other words, any method may be used as long as the cursor indication is displayed at the position of the content name. For example, the cursor indication may be a predetermined mark displayed at the beginning of the title of the content.

At step S11, it is determined whether the cursor indication 70 has been moved. For example, when the user has not performed key input using, for example, the up key and the down key of the key module 13 and the cursor indication 70 has not moved, the flow proceeds to step S12. At step S12 , the microcomputer 41 indicates to the cursor 70 a time period T that has stopped at the position of any content name, and determines whether the time period T exceeds a predetermined time period T _th . As shown in FIG. 7B, when the cursor indication 70 has moved to the position of the content name "CCCCC", the microcomputer 41 starts counting the time period T corresponding to the output of the RTC 46. Before the time period T exceeds the predetermined time period _Tth , the microcomputer 41 determines whether the cursor indication 70 has moved from the position of the content name "CCCCC" to another position.

The predetermined time period T _th is, for example, about 0.5 seconds. Preferably the value of the predetermined time period T _th can be changed by the user.

When the determined result at step S12 indicates that the time period T exceeds the predetermined time period _Tth , the flow proceeds to step S13. At step S13, a part of the content at the position of the current cursor pointing 70 is reproduced. For example, when the cursor indication 70 has moved to the position of the content name "CCCCC" shown in _FIG . reproduce. Thus, preview reproduction of the content having the content name "CCCCC" is performed.

In preview reproduction, content data is reproduced for a predetermined period of time (for example, 10 seconds) from the beginning. Alternatively, reproduction may be stopped after real content data is reproduced for a predetermined period of time from the start. Alternatively, a dedicated file for preview reproduction can be created and reproduced. Alternatively, the preview reproduction position may be different for each content. A dedicated file for preview reproduction may be automatically created when content data is recorded to the hard disk drive 32 .

After the preview reproduction of the specific content has been completed, the preview reproduction of the content at the next position may be automatically started. In FIGS. 7A to 7D , when the preview reproduction of the content with the content name "CCCCC" is completed and the cursor indication 70 has not been moved, the preview reproduction of the content with the next content name "DDDDD" may be automatically started.

In addition, the cursor indication 70 can be moved by key operation while preview reproduction is being performed. In this case, when the cursor indication 70 is moved to the position of another file name and stopped for a predetermined period of time _Tth or longer, preview reproduction of the content at the position of the cursor indication 70 may be performed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7C , while preview reproduction is being performed on the content having the content name "CCCCC" at the position of the cursor indication 70, the cursor indication 70 can be moved by key operation. The cursor indication 70 is moved over the position of the content name "DDDDD" within a predetermined time period _Tth , and then stops at the position of the content name "EEEEE". The microcomputer 41 measures the stop period T of the cursor indication 70 . When the stop period T exceeds the predetermined period _Tth , the microcomputer 41 stops the preview reproduction of the content with the content name "CCCCC" and starts the preview reproduction of the content with the content name "EEEEE".

When a confirmation operation is performed on the selected content while preview reproduction is being performed, preview reproduction can be switched to normal reproduction. After the preview reproduction is switched to the normal reproduction, the display section 10 displays an indication that the normal reproduction is being performed, as shown in FIG. 7D. In the example shown in FIG. 7D, the display section 10 displays text "now playing", which indicates that normal reproduction is being performed. In addition, the display section 10 displays attribute information of the content having the content name "CCCCC" being reproduced.

Next, when, for example, the enter key 13A is pressed while preview reproduction is being performed, preview reproduction is switched to normal reproduction. Next, the process of switching from preview reproduction to normal reproduction will be described. There are two methods in this case. In the first method, normal reproduction is performed from the beginning of content data for which preview reproduction has been performed. In the second method, normal reproduction is performed from the position where preview reproduction of content data was stopped.

Next, these methods are briefly described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B . Assume that the period of time during which preview reproduction is performed from the beginning of the content is 10 seconds, and that preview reproduction is continuously and automatically performed for the first, second, and third tracks of content data, and that a confirmation operation is performed in the middle of preview reproduction of the third track .

In the first method, as shown in FIG. 8A , when a confirmation operation is performed (reproduction operation is commanded) by operating, for example, the enter key 13A while preview reproduction is being performed on the third track, preview reproduction to the third track is stopped. . After a lapse of a predetermined period of time, the entire third track of the content data is reproduced from the beginning.

On the other hand, in the second method, as shown in FIG. 8B , when a confirmation operation is performed while preview reproduction is being performed on the third track, the preview reproduction is stopped. And the normal reproduction is continued from the position where the preview reproduction for the third track was stopped.

In the foregoing description, a list of contents recorded in the hard disk drive 32 is directly displayed on the display section 10 . However, this structure is only an example. In other words, content data of hundreds to thousands of tracks can be recorded in the hard disk drive 32 . Using the automatic preview reproduction corresponding to the stop period indicated by the cursor 70 and content attribute information, content can be easily retrieved from such a large amount of data.

Next, as an example of preview reproduction, a method of selecting content data using the aforementioned artist link information will be described. In the following description, a mode in which content data is selected using artist link information is referred to as an artist link mode.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure performed in the artist link mode. 10A to 10C and 11A to 11D show transitions indicated in the process shown in FIG. 9 . Assume that the reproduction operation mode of the reproduction apparatus 1 is the normal reproduction mode, and the normal reproduction of the content X of the artist A is being performed. When, for example, the discovery key 14 of the operation section 20 is operated, the artist link mode is entered. Upon entering the artist link mode, the microcomputer 41 refers to the artist link information, and causes the display section 10 to display an artist link screen, as shown in FIG. 10A. The artist link screen has a list indicating portion 71A indicating a list of artist A and artist B, C, etc. related to artist A (at step S20).

In this example, referring to the attribute information table, artist names are classified and listed in descending order of the number of tracks of the content recorded in the hard disk drive 32 . A cursor indication 70 is displayed at Artist A's position. The reproduction content indication section 71B indicates content information that is currently being reproduced. The order of sorting artist names is not limited to this example. While the cursor indication 70 is displayed at the position of artist A, normal reproduction of the content being reproduced immediately before entering the artist link mode (artist A's content X in this example) continues.

In this state, when the down key of the key module 13 is operated, as shown in FIG. 10B , the cursor pointer 70 continuously moves to the position of the relevant artist B, C, etc. (at different S21). Also, the artist link mode is switched to the preview reproduction mode. In the example shown in FIG. 10B , the cursor indication 70 passes the artist B's position and stops at the artist C's position within a predetermined period of time (for example, 0.5 seconds) according to the user's operation with the down key. Based on the results measured by the microcomputer 41, it is determined whether the cursor indication 70 has stopped at the position of the artist C for a predetermined period of time _Tth or longer (at step S22). When the determined result indicates that the stop period T is greater than or equal to the predetermined period _Tth , the flow proceeds to step S23. At step S23, referring to the attribute information table 30', the content is automatically selected from the content data related to the item at the position indicated by the cursor 70 according to a predetermined rule.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10B , assume that the cursor indication 70 is displayed at the position of the item "Artist C", and contents P, Q, R, and S have been recorded into the hard disk drive 32 as contents of artist C. These contents P, Q, R and S are classified in descending order of their ranks according to the attribute information table 30'. "Reproduction history" of the attribute information table 30' is used as an item of ranking. Contents are sorted in descending order of their reproduction counts. It is also possible to facilitate the automatic "ranking information" of the attribute information table 30' to classify the content according to the popularity of the content. In addition, the content may be ranked with preference of the content according to the reproduction count of the content and the skip count of the content. It is preferable that the user freely assigns items to be rated. At step S23, the microcomputer 41 automatically selects the content P which is the highest-ranked content.

Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S24. In step S24, preview reproduction of the selected content P is performed. In step S24, the display section 10 still displays the artist link screen. The reproduction content indication section 71B indicates the content for which preview reproduction is being performed (see FIG. 10C ).

Thereafter, the flow advances to step S25. At step S25, when the cursor indication 70 is displayed at the position of the artist C, it is determined whether the preview reproduction of the content P has been completed. When the determined result at step S25 indicates that the preview reproduction of the content P has been completed, the flow proceeds to step S26. At step S26, preview reproduction of the next selected content is automatically performed. Preview reproduction of the next higher-ranked content (for example, content Q) after content P is automatically performed. The display section 10 still displays the artist link screen. The reproduced content indication section 71B indicates the content for which preview reproduction is being performed (see FIG. 11A ). Thereafter, the flow returns to step S25.

After the preview reproduction of all content recorded in the hard disk drive 32 to the artist C at the position indicated by the cursor 70 is completed, the preview reproduction of the content of the next artist (for example, artist D) is automatically performed (steps S25 and Step S26 is repeated). At this time, the display section 10 still displays the artist link screen. In the list indication section 71A, the cursor indication 70 is automatically moved to the position of the artist D (see FIG. 11B ). The reproduction content indication section 71B indicates the content T for which preview reproduction is currently being performed.

In contrast, when the determined result at step S25 indicates that preview reproduction is being performed, the flow proceeds to step S27. At step S27, it is determined whether to switch the preview reproduction mode to the normal reproduction mode.

When a confirmation operation is performed using, for example, the enter key 13A in the state shown in FIG. 11A, the artist link screen is switched to the content list screen on the display section 10 as shown in FIG. 11C. On this content list screen, the content of artist C can be selected. The list indication section 71A on the content list screen indicates a list of artist C's content. The reproduced content indication section 71B on the content list screen indicates the content for which preview reproduction is currently being performed.

When a confirmation operation on content is performed using, for example, the enter key 13A in the state shown in FIG. 11B , it is determined that the reproduction mode is to be switched to the normal reproduction mode. The flow advances to step S28. In step S28, normal reproduction is performed on the content Q for which preview reproduction is currently being performed. The display section 10 still displays the content list screen. The reproduced content indication section 71B on the content list screen indicates the content selected for normal reproduction (FIG. 11C). After the execution of the normal reproduction of the content Q is completed, the value of the field "reproduction history" of the record corresponding to the content Q in the attribute information table 30' is incremented by 1.

Unless normal reproduction is commanded, the flow returns to step S25. At step S25, preview reproduction is continued. After the preview reproduction of the content Q has been completed, if the cursor indication 70 is not moved, the preview reproduction of the content R which is the next highest ranked content is automatically started. The cursor indication 70 moves to the position of the content R. FIG.

When it is determined at step S25 that the preview reproduction is being performed, another artist can be selected by moving the cursor indication 70 in a state where the artist link screen shown in FIG. 11A is displayed. In other words, when the determined result at step S25 indicates that preview reproduction is being performed and the cursor indication 70 has been moved, the flow returns to step S23. At step S23, preview reproduction of the content of the artist at the position indicated by the cursor 70 may be performed.

Next, a method of notifying a user of an expiration date of subscription content according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, a service that provides ordered content will be briefly described. The subscription content is content for which the user can reproduce the content within a predetermined time after he or she pays an appropriate fee to the service provider side for the content.

For example, the user pays an appropriate fee to the service provider side (for example, the music server 4), and concludes a predetermined service contract with the service provider side. On the other hand, the service provider side encrypts the content in a predetermined manner, and saves it as ordered content. The service provider side allows the contract user to download the subscription content, and sends the user a decryption key via, for example, the Internet, with which he or she can decrypt the subscription content. The key is assigned an expiration date. After a key's expiration date has expired, the key can no longer be used to decrypt encrypted content.

The user records the downloaded ordered content and the key of the ordered content in the playback device 1 . When the user selects to reproduce the downloaded ordered content, the reproducing apparatus 1 decrypts the ordered content using the key, and then reproduces the decrypted ordered content. When the expiration date of the key of the subscription content is about to arrive soon or after the expiration date has arrived, the reproducing apparatus 1 causes the display section 10 to display, for example, a warning message, which notifies the user that the expiration date of the key is about to arrive soon. or has arrived.

In other words, as shown in FIG. 12, before the expiration date of the key 101 to which the expiration date has been assigned comes, the encrypted content 100 recorded in the reproduction apparatus 1 is decrypted using the key. The decrypted content is reproduced. The expiration date of the key 101 is managed by a secure clock 102 whose clock cannot be changed by the user.

When the encrypted content 100 is reproduced, the time assigned to the key 101 and the current time calculated by the secure clock 102 are compared. When the current time is earlier than the time assigned to the key 101 , the encrypted content 100 is decrypted using the key 101 . Conversely, when the current time is later than the time assigned to the key 101 , the encrypted content 100 cannot be decrypted using the key 101 .

When the expiration date of the key for ordering content has come, the user can pay a predetermined fee to the content provider side to extend the expiration date. As a result, the encrypted content 100 can be decrypted using the key 101 . Thus, ordered contents can be reproduced.

It should be noted that the relationship between the encrypted content 100 and the key 101 used to decrypt the encrypted content 100 is not limited to the one-to-one relationship shown in FIG. 12 . For example, as shown in FIG. 13, a key 101 may be assigned to each service provided by the service provider side.

In this case, a plurality of encrypted contents 100', 100', etc. downloaded as service A are decrypted using a common key 101'. Similarly, the plurality of encrypted contents 100", 100", etc. downloaded as service B are decrypted using the public key 101", which is different from the public key 101". Expiration dates are assigned to Key 101' and Key 101" for Service A and Service B, respectively.

In the method shown in Figure 13, the expiration date of keys 101', 101", etc. for multiple services can be retrieved. Therefore, the method shown in Figure 13 is simpler than the method of having a key 101 for each content .Alternatively, keys can be assigned hierarchically.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, only when the user turns on the power of the reproducing apparatus 1 and the reproducing apparatus 1 starts up, is he or she notified that the expiration date of the key of the content is coming. When the reproduction apparatus 1 starts up, it retrieves the subscription content from the content recorded in the hard disk drive 32 of the reproduction apparatus 1, and checks the expiration date of the subscription content. The playback device 1 compares the checked expiration date with the current time (date). If there is subscription content whose expiration date is imminent, the reproduction apparatus 1 causes display section 10 to display the subscription content whose expiration date is imminent. Therefore, the user can know whether or not there is a subscription content whose expiration date is coming before he or she selects the subscription content.

If the user is notified by the reproduction device 1 that there is subscription content whose expiry date is imminent only when the user starts the reproduction device 1 for the first time every day, then preferably, since it is not whenever he or she turns on the reproduction device 1 Notify him or her whenever there is a subscription with an expiry date coming soon, so he or she doesn't get bored.

Next, a method of notifying a user of an expiration date of subscription content according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 13 , it is assumed that downloaded subscription contents are managed on a per-service basis, and a key 101" for decrypting encrypted subscription contents is distributed on a per-service basis. In addition, according to the The service contract signed by the content provider, the service provider permits the user to use the service.

14A and 14B show an example of the structure of licenses for ordered content that are managed. As shown in FIG. 14A, each ordered content has license management information 110 including a license number and expiration date information representing the expiration date of the ordered content. The license number indicates the service to which the content of the subscription belongs. The license management information 110 is stored, for example, in the header of the ordered content. In addition, the license management information 110 may be a file associated with each ordered content in a predetermined manner.

FIG. 14B shows an example of a license list file 111 describing license information for each service. In the example shown in FIG. 14B , the license number of the contract service and the expiration date information indicating the expiration date of the downloadable subscription content are described in association. The license number is uniquely generated by, for example, the reproduction apparatus 1 on a per-service basis. In addition, a key for decrypting encrypted subscription content downloaded based on the service corresponding to the license number is associated with the license number (not shown).

When the user concludes a contract with the service provider side for a service, the service provider side provides the license information described in the license list file 111 to the user. The license information is recorded on the hard disk drive 32 of the reproduction apparatus 1 . License number and expiration date information are added to the license list file 111 when the user signs a contract with the service provider side for a new service. As a result, the license list file 111 is updated.

FIG. 15 is an example illustrating a process of notifying a user of an expiration date of subscription content according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the reproducing apparatus 1 starts up, the flow advances to step S30. At step S30, the current time is obtained from the secure clock. As mentioned above, a secure clock is a clock whose time cannot be changed by the user. The secure clock may include, for example, real time clock 46 . The time information obtained from the secure clock is called trusted time.

Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S31. At step S31 , according to a command issued from the microcomputer 41 , the license list file 111 is read out from the hard disk drive 32 . The microcomputer 41 compares the expiration date information described in the license list file 111 with the trusted time. As shown on the left side of FIG. 16, at the startup of the reproduction apparatus 1, the entire license list file 111 is checked, and each entry of expiration date information described in the license list file 111 is compared with the trusted time.

Thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S32. At step S32, the microcomputer 41 determines whether there is a license whose expiration date is imminent, based on the result of the comparison at step S31. For example, if the trusted time is earlier than the expiration date of the expiration date information by a predetermined time period, it is determined that the expiration date of the license corresponding to the expiration date information is coming soon. The sequence of steps of the process is complete when the determination indicates that there are no licenses with an imminent expiration date. In contrast, when the determined result at step S32 indicates that there is a license whose expiration date is imminent, the flow proceeds to step S33.

The predetermined period of time may be specified on a day basis, for example, 5 days or 7 days. In addition, the predetermined period of time may also be specified on an hourly basis, for example, 120 hours or 168 hours. In addition, the predetermined period of time for each license may be different from each other. In this case, the service provider side designates a predetermined time period in advance and provides it to the user together with the license information.

At step 33, the current time is compared with the time at which the alarm indication was displayed according to the sequence of steps of the process. It is determined whether the current time is later than the time at which a previous warning indication was displayed by a predetermined period of time or longer. When the determined result indicates that the current time is later than the time at which the previous warning indication was displayed by the predetermined time or longer, the flow proceeds to step S34. At step S34, the display section 10 displays a predetermined warning indication.

On the contrary, when the determination result indicates that the current time is not later than the time at which the previous warning indication was displayed by the predetermined time period or more, the sequence of steps of the process is completed. Therefore, the display section 10 does not display an alarm indication. When the power of the reproducing apparatus 1 is frequently turned on and off during a relatively short period, the determination at step S33 allows the display section 10 to display an alarm message only when the reproducing apparatus 1 is started up for the first time every day. In this case, the display section 10 displays an alarm indication when the power of the reproducing apparatus 1 is turned on after the power of the reproducing apparatus 1 has been turned off and a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Therefore, even if the user repeatedly turns on and off the power of the reproducing apparatus 1, since the expiration date warning message is not displayed, he or she will not feel bored.

FIG. 17A shows an example of the warning indication displayed at step S34. The alarm indication screen 200 displayed on the display section 10 indicates a message describing that the expiration date is coming soon. In the example shown in FIG. 17A , the message describes, for example, "The subscription license will expire in [xx] hours. Connect the device to the corresponding software and update the license information." The message not only describes the remaining time period of the license , also reminding the user to update the license.

The remaining period of the expiration date can be obtained by calculating the difference between the trusted time and the expiration date information described in the license list file 111 . The remaining period of the expiration date is updated every time the reproduction apparatus 1 is started, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 is executed, and an alarm indication is displayed at step S34. When the license information described in the license list file 111 contains a plurality of licenses whose expiration dates are imminent, the alarm indication screen 200 corresponding to the latest expiration date may be displayed.

In the foregoing description, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 is executed whenever the reproducing apparatus 1 starts up. In addition, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 may be executed only when the reproducing apparatus 1 is started up for the first time every day. For example, the startup time of the reproduction apparatus 1 may be recorded in the log. When the reproducing apparatus 1 starts up, referring to this log, it is determined whether the reproducing apparatus 1 is started up for the first time in the day. When the determined result indicates that the reproducing apparatus 1 is started up for the first time on that day, the aforementioned process is performed. In addition, a flag indicating whether or not the playback device 1 is activated for the first time of the day may be used.

In this case, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 may be performed every few days instead of every day.

As described above, when the reproducing apparatus 1 starts up, it is determined whether or not there is a license whose expiration date is imminent. On the other hand, when ordering content is reproduced, it is determined whether the expiration date of the license has come, and whether the ordering content can be renewed.

The ordered contents are selected from a list of contents displayed on the display section 10 . The selected order contents are ordered to be reproduced. When the selected subscription content is ordered to be reproduced, as shown on the right side of FIG. 16, the license number and the expiration date of the subscription content ordered to be reproduced are checked. The license list file 111 corresponding to the license number is searched. Based on the result of the check, it is determined whether the expiration date of the service to which the subscription content belongs is imminent and whether the expiration date of the subscription content is imminent. Based on these determination results, it is determined whether to display an alarm indication based on, for example, an earlier expiration date. Additionally, priorities can be assigned to ordering content itself and services.

FIG. 17B shows an alarm indication displayed on the display section 10 when the specified subscription content cannot be reproduced because its expiration date has come. The alarm indication screen 201 displayed on the display section 10 indicates a message describing that the specified subscription content cannot be reproduced because its expiration date has come. In the example shown in FIG. 17B, the message describes, for example, "The content cannot be reproduced because the expiration date of the content has come. Connect the device to the corresponding software and update the license information." The alarm indication screen 201 displays a message, This message describes that the specified subscription content cannot be reproduced because its expiration date has come, and reminds the user to renew the license.

FIG. 18 shows expiration dates of licenses, license-based reproducible and non-reproducible states of ordered contents, and alarm indications on the time axis. In this example, it is assumed that the reproduction expiration date of the license-based subscription content is August 1, and the period of 5 days before the expiration date (ie, July 26 to August 1) is the license renewal period. In addition, it is assumed that an alarm indication describing that the expiration date is coming soon is displayed during the renewal of the license.

Subscription content based on this license can be reproduced until July 26, that is, during the license renewal period. Therefore, no alarm indication is displayed. After July 26, that is, during the license renewal period, when the reproducing apparatus 1 is started, an alarm indication screen 200 indicating that there is a license whose expiration date is imminent is displayed on the display section 10 . During the license update period, it is possible to reproduce the ordered content based on the license whose expiration date is coming soon.

When the license renewal period ends on August 1, the expiration date of the license has come. As a result, ordered content based on this license cannot be reproduced. After the period expires, the result determined at step S32 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 indicates that there is no license whose expiration date is imminent. Therefore, the alarm indication screen 200 is not displayed at step S34. On the contrary, when the reproduction of the ordered content based on the license is ordered, both the expiration date information of the ordered content and the license information are checked. As a result, it is determined that the expiration date of the license has come. According to the determined result, the ordered content cannot be reproduced. In addition, an alarm indication screen 201 indicating that the expiration date of the license has come is displayed on the display section 10 .

In the foregoing, the information indicating the license whose expiration date is coming and the information indicating the license whose expiration date has come are displayed as the alarm indication screens 200 and 201, respectively. However, they are only examples. Instead, simple display devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) may additionally be provided. An alarm indication can be displayed using the display device. In addition, the user may be notified of these kinds of information by sound.

In the foregoing example, it was assumed that the recording medium of the reproduction apparatus 1 is the hard disk drive 32 . However, it is only an example. In contrast, a rewritable ROM such as a flash memory can be used as a recording medium on which content data and the like are recorded. In addition, the recording medium is not limited to a built-in recording medium of the playback device. Conversely, a removable recording medium can also be used for the reproducing apparatus 1 .

A communication section that performs wireless data communication with the reproduction apparatus 1 may also be provided. In this case, when the communication section of the reproducing apparatus 1 exists in the wireless communication range, the display section 10 may display, for example, alarm indication screens 200 and 201 indicating the license whose expiration date is approaching and the expiration date that has expired, respectively. received license. In this case, the communication section can wirelessly communicate with the music server 4 via the Internet 3, thereby rapidly obtaining license information.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the reproducing apparatus 1 may have content data whose subscription expiration date is imminent and content data whose subscription expiration date has come. In the present embodiment, the reproduction apparatus 1 communicates with the order management server 300 that manages the contract for ordering content to perform update of the license. The subscription management server 300 is a server that manages the expiration date of content data for users who have registered for a subscription service. The subscription management server has at least a management section that stores a database associating users, terminals, content data, and expiration-related information, a communication section that communicates with the reproduction device 1, and an update section that updates licenses. Referring to the database, content data whose expiration date is imminent and content data whose expiration date has already been identified may be identified. The subscription management server notifies the reproduction apparatus 1 storing the content data that there are content data whose expiration date is imminent and content data whose expiration date has come. According to the present embodiment, when the reproducing apparatus 1 exists in an area where the reproducing apparatus 1 can communicate with the order management server 300, for example, an area where radio waves of a wireless LAN can be received, the reproducing apparatus 1 transmits license update request information to the Subscription Management Server. The subscription management server performs updates to the license. The subscription management server sends the updated license to the reproduction apparatus 1 . After the reproducing apparatus 1 stores the license, the reproducing apparatus 1 can reproduce the content data whose license is updated. When the user performs an operation of a license update request in an area where the reproducing apparatus 1 cannot receive radio waves of the wireless LAN, the reproducing apparatus 1 sets a flag to the content for which the user has requested to update the license. When the reproducing apparatus 1 enters an area where radio waves of the wireless LAN can be received, the reproducing apparatus 1 notifies the subscription management server of a license update request for the content to which the flag has been set. After the subscription management server has updated the license, the server can send the updated license to the reproduction apparatus 1 .

After the expiration date of the license of the content data has come, if the license has not been renewed within a predetermined period of time, the content data may be deleted from the reproduction apparatus 1 .

In the foregoing description, it was assumed that the content is audio data. However, this is only an example. In other words, as long as the content has time information and changes with time, the content may also be video data.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions may be made depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims (21)

1. transcriber comprises:

Recording section, its recorded content data;

Reproducing part, it reproduces described content-data;

The time information generating part, its generation time information; And

Control section, when described transcriber started, it checked based on the temporal information that described time information generating partly produces whether described recording section has write down the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon,

Wherein, in described recording section records expiry date will arrive very soon content-data the time, the content-data that described control section will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of user notification.

2. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, when described transcriber starts, the time period of described control section before the expiry date of described user notification at described content-data.

3. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, only when described transcriber starts every day for the first time, the content-data that the temporal information that described control section just partly produces based on described time information generating will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of described user notification.

4. transcriber as claimed in claim 3,

Wherein, described control section per a couple of days the content-data that will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of described user notification.

5. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, start and described user when having confirmed content-data that described expiry date arrived the content-data that described control section does not notify described expiry date to arrive to him or she when described transcriber.

6. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, the temporal information that described control section partly produces based on described time information generating, whether the expiry date of the content-data that inspection will be reproduced arrives, and

Wherein, when the expiry date of described content-data then, described control section is from a row content choice content-data and reproduce the content-data of being chosen.

7. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, described control section based on be recorded in the described recording section with the corresponding license information of described content-data, check whether described recording section has write down the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon.

8. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, the expiry date of described content-data is very fast will be then, described control section also upgrades described expiry date.

9. transcriber as claimed in claim 1 also comprises:

Communications portion, it is to outside equipment sending data with from described outer equipment receiving data,

Wherein, when described transcriber be present in described communications portion can with the zone of described external device communication in the time, described control section upgrades the expiry date of described content-data.

10. transcriber as claimed in claim 1,

Wherein, if licence described in the section is not updated at the fixed time, then after the expiry date of the licence of content-data had arrived, described control section was deleted described content-data from described recording medium.

11. a reproducting method that is used for rendition of content data may further comprise the steps:

Generation time information;

When transcriber starts,, check whether described pen recorder has the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon based on described temporal information; And,

When described transcriber has the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon, the content-data that will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of user notification.

12. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11,

Wherein, described notifying process is carried out by following process: when described transcriber has the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon, to the time period of described user notification before described expiry date arrives.

13. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11,

Wherein, described notifying process is carried out by following process: only when described transcriber starts every day for the first time, and just based on the temporal information that is produced, the content-data that will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of described user notification.

14. reproducting method as claimed in claim 13,

Wherein, described notifying process is carried out by following process: the content-data that per a couple of days will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of described user notification.

15. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11,

Wherein, when described transcriber starts and described user when having confirmed content-data that described expiry date arrived, do not carry out described notifying process.

16. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11,

Wherein, described inspection step be expiry date by the content-data that will reproduce based on the temporal information inspection that is produced whether to being performed, and

Wherein, when the expiry date of described content-data then, described reproducting method is further comprising the steps of:

From a row content choice content-data; And

Reproduce the content-data of being chosen.

17. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11,

Wherein, described inspection step be by have based on described transcriber with the corresponding license information of described content-data, check whether described transcriber has the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon and be performed.

18. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11 is further comprising the steps of:

The expiry date of described content-data is very fast will be then, upgrade described expiry date.

19. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11 is further comprising the steps of:

To outside equipment sending data with from described outer equipment receiving data;

When described transcriber be present in described transcriber can with the zone of described external device communication in the time, upgrade the expiry date of described content-data.

20. reproducting method as claimed in claim 11 is further comprising the steps of:

If licence described in the section is not updated at the fixed time, then after the expiry date of the licence of content-data has arrived, delete described content-data from described transcriber.

21. the system with transcriber and external unit,

Wherein, described transcriber comprises:

Recording section, its recorded content data;

Reproducing part, it reproduces described content-data;

The time information generating part, its generation time information; And

Control section, when described transcriber started, it checked based on the temporal information that described time information generating partly produces whether described recording section has write down the content-data that expiry date will arrive very soon,

Wherein, in described recording section records expiry date will arrive very soon content-data the time, the content-data that described control section will arrive very soon to the described expiry date of user notification, and the license information of the content-data that expiry date will be arrived very soon sends to described external unit, and

Wherein said external unit comprises:

Communications portion, it is communicated by letter with described transcriber;

Administrative section, its administration of licences relevant information; And

New portion more, it upgrades the license information that sends from described external unit based on the described license information that sends from described transcriber with by the described licence relevant information of described administrative section management.

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